MOVIE REVIEW: Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood

Slapping a “once upon a time…” to the title of his ninth film, Tarantino makes that label and its yarn of unlikelihood, misdirection, and heightened allure an upfront certainty. Following that classical starter with his chosen target of story setting, the director’s usual approach of homage becomes readily apparent. Making so many fairy tales with a fat creative license to revise whatever he wants, fancy, zeal, and style are never Quentin Tarantino’s problems. The tightness of his brand of chatty and meandering excessiveness is usually the hangup. This movie has some of the best of the former and still plenty of the latter for a dippy mix of sunny sauntering and tiresome puzzlement.

2019, 3 STARSDon ShanahanJuly 24, 2019Music Box Theatre Comments

MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on July 22, 2019

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: What is the best ever horror performance and how did it leverage the genre to accomplish something that might not have been possible in a more grounded type of film?

Horror is not my cup of tea, coffee, cocktail, or even water, and I didn’t see Midsommar which inspired this week’s survey question, but I have dipped my toe in enough good and classic horror to pick out a great performance or two. I’ve seen no one unravel under the fictional stresses better than Mia Farrow in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

Independent Film, Media Appearance, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019Don ShanahanJuly 23, 2019David EhrlichComment

COLUMN: 5 Upcoming Epic Movies To Watch This Summer

It is again that time of the year when you are trying to take a break from the heat and look for a way to cool off. While some people enjoy drinking cocktails at the pool or escaping in the mountains, there is no doubt that cinema lovers just like you, are constantly refreshing their Netflix pages. Now that you have already watched the Avengers: Endgame, John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum, and Toy Story 4, don't despair, there are a lot of other epic movies that are just around the corner.

2019, Column, Editorial, LIST, Social MediaDon ShanahanJuly 19, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Into the Ashes

Restraint is not a common artistic or narrative characteristic in revenge films nowadays. We live in an explicit world where the louder and more outlandish outpourings of violence are what grab attention and audiences. The stern and sullen are taken as dull and tedious. Like its title, Into the Ashes resides in the crackling smolder instead of the bright flames. There is plenty of heat to burn and brand from that calmer temperature of cinematic coals. The movie debuts on July 19th in limited theatrical release and VOD outlets.

3 STARS, 2019, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Video on DemandDon ShanahanJuly 18, 2019Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: Best Movies of All-Time Every Law Student Should Watch

Out of several niches such as thrill, drama, romance, and sci-fi, movies related to the law have always remained mine (and I am sure for many others) all-time-favorite niche. For many screenwriters, lawyers make the least interesting movie setting, however, there are few movies that have made this task exciting and worth filming. Here is the list of top law school movies of all times that are worth-watching for every law student. You may agree to some of the movies from the list, and can also suggest more.

2019, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Home Media, LIST, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJuly 17, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Farewell

Even with this divisive indigenous practice happening to challenge the sensitivity of audiences, the universal human condition feels are extremely strong in one of the most entertaining and freeing film experiences of recent memory. The writer and director herself attests there is “not a wrong moment to laugh.” Lulu Wang is right. The catharsis, the grief, or both are intensely relatable. With that humorous dread and paralyzing poise, this distinct film carries poignant spirit. There is room in any season for an unexpected film to surround and heal one’s self in the difficult or awkward stakes of familial love and loss.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "You'll Probably Agree" podcast talking "The Lion King" and Disney's future

Mike Crowley of the steaming-ahead “You’ll Probably Agree” brand welcomed yours truly back on the podcast microphone again, this time to talk about The Lion King. Neither one of our childhoods were married to the 1994 original, but we recognize its greatness while questioning and critiquing the new Jon Favreau visual achievement. Mike and I gaze ahead into the Disney crystal ball and wonder where they are heading with these reimaginings that border on creative bankruptcy. Fire up the audio! Give the show episode a listen, his YouTube channel a new subscriber, his Facebook page a like, and his Twitter a follow!

Social Media, SPECIAL, 2019, Editorial, Podcast, Media AppearanceDon ShanahanJuly 16, 2019Comment

GUEST EDITORIAL: The Relevance of "Fight Club"

In the last twenty years, however, it’s become something of a cult classic, and many have tried to dissect what the film actually means. To me, it’s mainly a satire on the American consumerist lifestyle, the prevalence of advertising, and masculinity. Some see it as a very political film, throwing around words such as “Marxism” or “propaganda.” To others, it’s about spirituality. Everyone has their own take on Fight Club. Personally, I think it’s some kind of combination of all of these ideas, and I’m dedicating the rest of this article to explaining why I believe that Fight Club has inadvertently become much more relevant now than it was in 1999.

2019, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, SPECIAL, RetrospectiveDon ShanahanJuly 14, 2019Comment

GUEST CRITIC #30: Crawl

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews. Today, meet fellow Feelin’ Film contributor Jeremy Calcara!

2018, Foreign Film, Independent Film, GUEST CRITIC, MOVIE REVIEW, SPECIAL, Social Media, Vintage ReviewDon ShanahanJuly 12, 2019Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Lion King

Jon Favreau’s The Lion King stands as the biggest test to all of that progress and the attached criticism because of how little beyond the pristinely pixelated exterior is actually “reimagined.” So incredibly and, dare I say, unnecessarily much is nearly a shot-for-shot duplication of Disney’s most popular and most successful film of their Renaissance era. To go back to Dumbo, duplicated enjoyment may have been the goal, but that makes one question a tangible purpose for truly needing any such update. Luckily, the shininess, so to speak, is an undeniably impressive redeeming feature to a lack of implemented originality.

SHORT FILM REVIEW: A Bad Feeling

Star Wars fans will quickly have their sensors triggered when they note the title of this short film from Charlotte Barrett and Sean Fallon. It is a nod to a running gag that is said as often in Star Wars films as the classic line “May the Force be with you.” The phrase alludes to a character’s audible dread and the heebie-jeebies warning of something awful, visible or invisible, on their horizon. The characters in those movie moments say it and mean it. In A Bad Feeling, the husband and wife central figures know their trouble, entirely feel it, but don’t announce their fears when they should.

GUEST EDITORIAL: How filmmaking companies make money

We all love to watch films and feel as if we’re the part of movie-making art. And every time we go to the cinema we try to imagine what stands behind all these scenes and how the magic is done. Well, only film-makers know these secrets but we definitely know that they cost a lot of money. Movie production companies know that you won’t cover all the expenses with the help of ticket revenue. Filmmaking doesn’t only include the involvement of celebrities, cameramen, and other staff but also development, production, promotion, etc. So, let’s find out how people make money in this industry.

2019, Column, Editorial, GUEST EDITORIAL, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJuly 9, 2019 Comment